LA JOLLA, Calif. – Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James held his King's Academy Basketball Camp on the campus of UC San Diego for the first time this week and the successful five-day event wrapped up without a hitch Tuesday.

Over 500 campers from a total of 23 states and nine countries came to La Jolla for the chance to receive instruction from James and his staff during the camp, which ran from July 24-28 at UCSD's RIMAC Arena. Open to children ages 7-17, the sold out camp taught kids the fundamentals of basketball, team play, good sportsmanship, and healthy habits. James attended the camp and conducted lectures, refereed games, and competed in evening counselor games. He opened a scrimmage to the community on Monday night before signing autographs for campers on Tuesday.

The camp was a smashing success in its first year on the UCSD campus.

“Having LeBron James here on campus was great for the athletic department, the university, and the community in so many ways,” UCSD Director of Athletics Earl W. Edwards said. “The camp was a tremendous success and brought invaluable exposure to our campus. I would like to thank LeBron, his family, and his staff for all they did for us while they were here and hopefully we'll have the opportunity to have them back in the future.”

In addition to the positive attention UCSD received for hosting “King James” for several days, the King's Academy exposed a large number of kids from around the country to the UC San Diego campus.

“The camp really gave us a chance to show people what we're about as a university and an athletic department,” Edwards added. “A target age group came in and saw our campus and our facilities and, obviously, that's important.”

“To me, this was very emblematic of who we are as a university,” head men's basketball coach Chris Carlson said. “Our campus has the ability to attract the very best, and in my field, LeBron is at the top. It was a privilege to have him and I hope that he and his family continue to make UCSD a summer destination.”